Connector for electric-current-carrying conductors.



H. SCHROEDBR. CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRIC CURRENT CARRYING GONDUGTORS.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 22, 1913.

Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

H. SOHROEDER. CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRIC CURRENT CARRYING GONDUCTORS.

AYILICATION FILED APR. 22, 1913.

2 SHEBTSSHEET 2.

@pucwtoz Herman Schroeder wh am Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

HERMAN SCHROEDER, or SOLLIT'I, ILLINOIS.

'CUNNEGTOR FOR ELECTRIC-CURRENT-CARRYING CONDUCTORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 27, 1914.

Application filed April 22, 1913. Serial No. 762,824.

. connections or coupling devices for the elec- 'tri'c current carrying conductors of electric circuits and, in the present instance, is directed particularly to a detachable connector. for coupling or connecting the various conductors of a railway train telephone sys tem. It isto be understood, however, that my invention in its useful application is not limited" to this particular purpose as the same may be empltg ed wherever it may be advantageously use In carrying out the resent invention, it is my purpose to provi e a connector or conpler for the conductors of a railway train telephone system which will automatically unconple in the event of the cars of the train becoming disconnected. through accitrical continuity of the circuit may be estabdent or otherwise without injuring or mutilating the individual conductors so that when the cars are again connected the eleclished with ease and facility.

It is also my purpose to provide an automatic connector of the type described which will embrace the desired features of simplicity, efficiency and durability coupled with cheapness of cost in manufacture and marketing and which Inay be readily applied to the cars of a train.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists in the construc-v tion, combination and arrangement of arts hereinafter set forth in and falling within the scope of the claim. A

In the accompaizlyin drawings; Figure 1 is a view in si e e evation of a train equipped with a. telephone system in which mylmproved connectors are installed. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation. of two adjacent or connected cars of a train showing. the connector on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the connector or coupler, 'dimached showing the companion'members thereof in the. positions they occupy when the cars leave each other.

Fig. vice. Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, A designates a railway train composed of the individual cars a connected together in train formation in, any well known or approved manner, while 6, b indicate telephone sets installed in the locoinotive cab and the caboose of the train respec tively, such telephone sets being connected with each other by way of a talking circuit This talking circuit is composed of conductors 1, 1 carried by each car of the train and arranged, in the present instance, along the under side of the body of the respective car.

In order-to connect the conduct'orsof adjacent cars to one another so as to establish a continuous'circuit for the current and at the'same time enable the electrical continuity of the circuit to be b'rolren automatically in the event of the cars uncoupling, I dispose between the confronting ends of adjacent cars a connector indicated as an entirety by the reference character C. Each conn'ector' is designed to establish connections between the conductors of adjacent cars and embraces companion elements each secured to the bottom of the respective car and ,hanging'loosely therefrom and designed to engage the element to form a unitary connector or coupler. When the cars are disconnected for any reason, the coupling straightens out and subsequently uncouples automatically thereby preserving the individual conductors is a sectional viewthrough the deof the circuit and holding the same intact. v

The companion elements of the connector are indicated at. 2, 2 and each, in the present .instance, is composed of a pair of nietal bars-3, 3 each having one end thereof formed to provide a partially circular socket 4 adaptedtoreceive the end of the respective conductor, the wall of the socket being then compressed to decrease the diameter of the socket and firmly grip the end of the conductor. The opposite ends" of the bars 3, 3 of the companion elements are bent upwardly, as at 5 and then curvedto form segments 6, 6 having flat surfaces 7 desi ed to lie face to face contact with the similar surfaces of the segments on the bars of the other elements. Each segment 6 is providedwith a keeper 8 preferably formed integral.

therewith and disposed upon the fiat surface thereof to receive a cooperating segment. In

car and depending therefrom.

the present instance,'the bars 3, 3 of each element of the coupling are spaced apart in parallelism by means of a block 9 of suitable insulating material disposed between the bars and suitably secured thereto, while the bars themselves are incased in a section of hose 10 suitably secured to thebottom of the If. desired, the hose may be extended the full length of the respective car so as to inclose the conductors of the circuit, although such is not absolutely necessary.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction, mode of operation and manner of employing my invention will be readily apparent. Assuming the cars of the train to be coupled up properly, it will be observed that the companion elements of each coupling hang loosely from the bottom of the cars and the electrical continuity of the circuit maintained so in the caboose may have talking communization with the engineer or vice versa. Should the train part, however, the coupling between the disconnected cars will first straighten out and subsequently uncou'ple' automatically, the companion elements of such coupling swinging upwardly incident to the connections therebetwecn, while the contacting faces of the segments 6, 6 ride over each other so that the segments leave the respective pieces. Thus, the circuit is automatically broken without mutilating the individual conductors thereof.

It will be seen that I have provided a connector which will be found especially useful that the trainmen of illustration, I desire to have it understood that I do not limit or confine myself to the precise details of construction herein described and delineated, as modification and variation may be made within the scope of the claim and without departing from the spirit of the invention.

A connector for electric current carrying conductors of railway cars, said connector comprising ;coinpanion elements hanging loosely from the car body at an angle to the horizontal, each element being formed of a pair of bars spaced apart, each bar having upwardly and then one end thereof bent formed to provide a segment having a Hat face adapted to contact With the similar face of the cooperating bar on the other member, means for holding the segments of each pair ofbars in face to face contact with the segments of the companion pair, and connections between the opposite ends of said bars and the respective conductors.

"ln'tes'tiinony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses. V

. HERMAN SCHROEDER. lVitncsses: v I

' Cass J. HAYDEN,

WILLIAM J. Ros'r. 

